1. Field of the Invention
The invention involves the field of animal traps, and more particularly, traps of the type adapted to utilize a snare cable, one end of which has an anchoring portion, while the other end provides a snare portion and is formed into a snare loop with such other end sliding freely in at least one direction along the anchor portion of the snare cable.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Animal snares are known in which the snare cable provides a snare loop at one end, with the end of the snare cable at that end having a sliding connection of some type with the standing or anchor portion of the snare cable. Thus, if an animal becomes engaged within the snare and tries to escape, the sliding connection of the snare loop end to the anchor portion of the cable acts in the manner of a slipknot and gradually tightens the snare loop around the animal, as the animal tries to move away from the anchor portion of the cable which is normally secured to the ground or to some stationary object. One problem with such snares is that they depend essentially on the animal's own efforts to escape as a means of tightening the snare loop. Thus, although the snare loop may be tightened sufficiently to prevent the animal from escaping, it will ordinarily not be tightened sufficiently to kill the animal. Therefore, such snares have been considered as inhumane and merciless devices for trapping an animal.
Similar criticisms have been made with respect to other types of animal traps such as the spring jaw traps, which may engage only a foot or other portion of an animal, without effectively killing the animal.
In an effort to avoid such criticisms, some traps have been designed in which the engagement of an animal with a trigger causes a spring actuated member to pierce the animal or to provide a guillotine effect for the head of the animal. Such devices, however, do not operate on the normal self-tightening slip knot principle, but require that an animal move into a very special location and position, not only to engage the tripping device for such spring member, but also to be in position for engagement by the member as it is released. In effect, such devices are suitable primarily for use in the manner of preset or fixed traps, which have certain predetermined sizes for their holding portions, depending on the size of animal being trapped. Thus, such traps are not as adaptable to multiple use for different animals as is the case with known types of snares, in which the action of the animal helps to tightens the snare to whatever animal size is involved. The prior art known to applicant is exemplified by the following U.S. Pat. Nos.: 2,079,825, Urquhart; 2,168,132, Marshall; 2,224,474, Draggoo; 2,478,025, Taylor; 2,700,844, Pastuck; and 4,016,672, Joncas.